


Finding the Precipice

by orphan_account



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Pre-Relationship, Protection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-19 14:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5969794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zelda comes to term with uncharted territories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding the Precipice

There was no end to the rain on this side of the clouds. They were sombre and heavy on the sky, lying like a veil overhead, separating the familiar world above from these foreign lands below.

Zelda often wondered, ever since her descent, if this world truly had no edges. Couldn’t it be just a very large island, but an island none the less, floating in the sky much like her home? Yet she knew the truth, even though it was hard to process: she knew that this was the origin, an edgeless world, from whence the islands she knew had been raised.

Impa, her mystifying protector, had confirmed the stories she had been taught. Intrinsically she knew, from the moment they met, that Impa would never tell her a lie.

In the rain, they had sought cover in a cavern. Impa had raised a barrier across the opening which shone a bright blue, and sparkled dimly whenever the splashing of the downpour hit it.

It was cold in the cavern, even when they lit two old torches surrounding an emptied treasure chest. Zelda seated herself next to one and brought her legs up to her breast, and tried to warm herself by strength of will alone. Watching the beautiful barrier and listening to the pitter-patter of heavy rain, and the low rumbling of thunder, she thought of how wondrous even the mundane seemed in a world without edges, where everything simply remained and prevailed.

Her protector stood by the barrier, ever vigilant, surveying the area on the other side of it. For someone so agile, when she was stagnant she always appeared stiff. Zelda’s gaze wandered from the barrier to Impa, and she wondered if she was the cause of it.

Impa looked back, as if she was able to tell she was being watched, and her severe eyes softened upon meeting Zelda’s gaze. She crossed the distance between them – her impressive height towering over Zelda’s crouched position – and knelt in front of her.

Before she could speak, Zelda had been wrapped in the lovely cape Impa always wore, the hood pulled up over her blond hair. Now Impa was with her toned arms uncovered and likely cold, but she voiced no complaint.

Zelda thought to return the clothing, but Impa put her hands on her shoulders to keep it in place.

“It is fine, Zelda,” Impa spoke. “I am resistant to heat and cold alike. My body is trained to combat any climate.”

“Be that as it may, I don’t feel right taking and taking like this.” Impa’s comfort, her leisure, her clothing: oath or not, Zelda did not feel just in taking advantage of Impa’s generosity.

Impa offered a slight smile – which Zelda already knew was rare and to be treasured.

“My lady, it is not taking when you are given something. And it is my honour to assist you.”

She moved to return to the barrier, to stand watch with her back turned, but Zelda reached out and caught her wrist as she stood.

“Then you can assist me in giving me a peace of mind and sit here near the fire with me. Seeing you stand by the cold makes me worry. I never see you sleep and you always make me have a larger share of food, even though you surely need more,” she said, growing bolder with each word. Up on Skyloft she was used to speaking her mind and never caving for anyone, but on the ground she had grown more cautious in this unknown environment. With Impa, she had felt more like a tagalong than the leader she had always been: but as she lectured her sworn protector now, in the shielded cavern under stormy skies, her nature resumed.

“If you want to make me feel protected, then make me see that you can show yourself the same kind of care you offer me. Otherwise, I won’t be comforted by your safeguarding.”

Impa didn’t appear shocked, though the stoic expression she wore wavered into something of a scowl. But if she objected Zelda’s ultimatum, she didn’t make it known.

Impa sat down to the right of Zelda, her back to the moss covered cave wall. The torch cast her imposing shadow next to her being, and her eyes were studying Zelda with something resembling caution. It was as if though she recalibrated the view she had formed of her ward, but not towards a negative end. When Zelda looked at her meaningfully, Impa’s shoulders lost some of the stiffness, finally slumping downwards, no matter the reluctance of that motion.

The rain still smattered against the barrier, showing no sign of letting up, and Zelda wondered how it was that the sky seemed even larger on this side of the clouds. She pulled the cape closer around her body, though she had felt more heated by her oration at Impa than by the cloth.

Mysteriously, though she hadn’t seen Impa sleep even once since they met – only catching the occasional shuteye when in camp, but never without being woken by the faintest sound of movement – she didn’t appear tired. She sat gallantly, keen as ever, and perhaps she truly was as unaffected by the weather as she claimed.

Zelda wasn’t used to this kind of person, but she indulged in the uniqueness of their relationship, even though it was characterized as an oath more professional, than personal. But couldn’t it be both?

Impa was all that she had here, and she didn’t find her companion lacking. She leaned her body against Impa’s, though even when seated her head barely reached the other’s shoulder.

“Does it hinder your ability to protect me if I lean against you like this?” she asked.

After a brief pause, Impa replied: “No.”

“And would it be unfavourable to have your arm around me?”

Impa’s contemplative eyes stared down at her, as she offered a question in return:

“Would that make you feel more protected?”

Zelda didn’t hesitate to say: “It would make me feel safe.”

Impa’s long arm draped around her back, settling on Zelda’s waist to keep her close. It was likely a better position for her, should she suddenly have to pick Zelda up and run away. Yet the intimacy didn’t seem entirely dependent upon convenience for a task.

Even if she asked her to, Zelda already knew that Impa wouldn’t sleep more, and wouldn’t eat bigger portions, no matter how much she was prompted to. Zelda couldn’t keep herself safe from all the evils of these lands, and thus, she couldn’t help Impa in her task. But maybe she could get better at forcing Impa to relax a bit, whenever mortal dangers were nowhere to be seen. Perchance, she could make Impa a little less distressed, by being close and assuring her that she was alive and well.

So far from her home and the rules of flying and limits of islands, these new and uncharted lands were all hers to explore and figure out. Impa was a good place to start, as the key and path forward to knowledge, enlightenment and stability.  


End file.
